Geotechnical Investigation Guide for Building in Volcanic Environments

The recent emergence of the Spanish Building Technical Code set a regulatory landscape Where geotechnical studies become mandatory for construction in Spain. This code provides a classification for building and terrain types, depending on which performs the geotechnical research planning. It is therefore necessary to identify and classify the terrain as one of the three types defined in the code. The Government of the Canary Islands has developed a guide that will allow code enforcement to volcanic terrains of the Canary Islands. In this paper, the geotechnical units of the Canaries as well as their classification according to the code are defined. In addition, the number and type of minimum geotechnical surveys carried out in each geotechnical unit is specified as a function of the planned building. Since the Canary Islands consist of a wide range of volcanic products, this guide can be applied to any other volcanic region.